“Operation Wild Web”: Selling wildlife online doesn’t pay

The Internet has become the world's largest marketplace. Buyers and sellers can find almost anything they want and purchase it with the click of a button, even wildlife and wildlife products.

Today, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) announced the results of “Operation Wild Web”—a coordinated undercover law enforcement operation which sought to bring illegal wildlife traffickers to justice. IFAW worked alongside the Feds to find these criminals.

Last summer, IFAW employees worked with USFWS to search marketplaces, forums and classified ads on the Internet for suspicious wildlife sales and report activities to taskforce team leaders around the country. The results were astounding: after just 14 days of tracking, “Operation Wild Web” netted 154 “buy/busts”—30 involving Federal wildlife crimes and 124 for violations of State wildlife laws.

We applaud the efforts of USFWS and IFAW volunteers—this successful example of cooperation between the state and a non-governmental organization is truly encouraging. Even so, the Internet remains a dangerous place for wildlife. The wildlife products bought online present real-world ethical and criminal threats. Consider signing IFAW’s Think Twice pledge: when in doubt, don’t buy. Illegal online wildlife trafficking doesn’t pay for animals, and it shouldn’t pay for criminals.